As you may know, for some time now, we have been working on a new downloadable message board product to replace our current UBB.classic and UBB.threads message boards. This project has taken much more time than we had orginally hoped and along the way the requirements for the product have shifted.

While the new product was originally designed to replace UBB.classic and UBB.threads, we wound up using much more of the core design of UBB.threads. Thus, we are now considering the new product an upgrade of UBB.threads, rather than a replacement.

About UBB.threads Version 7

UBB.threads Version 7 will be released as an alpha (to a small test group) on May 10, 2006, with the release of a public beta version expected on June 15, 2006. The creator and primary developer of UBB.threads, Rick Baker, will continue to lead the product.

While the same basic user level design has been retained to maintain familiarity and continuity, UBB.threads has been streamlined for ease of use and made simpler and more intuitive. New features in Version 7 include: an optional portal page, an updated private messaging system, new calendar options, and new favorites-tracking. Administrators will also now have the option of locking the board into either linear or threaded mode.

UBB.threads administrators will appreciate that weíve made a number of other improvements in design and architecture to enhance installation, maintenance, and updates. Weíve moved to using smarty templates, a popular template and presentation framework, for all front-facing pages. The database has been redesigned completely to make more efficient use of the MySQL server, as well as to add the use of FULLTEXT search.

Please note, importers for the new UBB.threads version, from both UBB.classic and UBB.threads, may not be immediately available, but will become available during the beta period.

What is Happening to UBB.classic?

UBB.classic will no longer be developed, and an end-of-life date has been set for June 15, 2006. From that date forward we will no longer develop or offer support for UBB.classic. The latest release of UBB.classic will remain in the Memberís Area as a courtesy to license holders, however.

Please note that if you are a current UBB.classic license holder, you do NOT have to stop using the product after June 15th. We are simply informing you that as of that date, we will no longer be issuing any product updates and will not be offering any support. You may still receive support for the product informally in our own support forums or via other sources.

With development and support for UBB.classic ending, we are making it easy for all UBB.classic customers to switch to UBB.threads, our other downloadable message board product, if they desire. All UBB.classic and UBB.threads licenses will be converted free of charge to a single UBB downloadable license. Your Memberís Area access subscription renewal date will be unchanged; hence you will have access to a single Memberís Area, where you will now have access to both UBB.classic (the latest version only) and UBB.threads. Note that UBB.classic license-holders can switch to UBB.threads at any time; they do not have to wait for Version 7 to be released. This means that, if you are a current UBB.classic customer who was thinking about converting to UBB.threads, you will be able to switch for free. Silver and Gold license holders will remain at the same level as well, thus there will be no loss of support hours if you have any remaining on your license.

Licensing and Support

Effective immediately, we are no longer offering any UBB.classic licenses. The existing UBB.threads license options will continue at the same price levels. The standard UBB.threads license does not include any support, while the Silver and Gold options include a certain number of support hours. Paid support is also available on an a la carte basis.

Free support can still be obtained from the community at https://www.ubbcentral.com (soon to be ubbthreads.com) on the forums. Paid support will be available through our support ticketing system. Prepaid support units from existing Gold and Silver licenses will still be honored, though after June 15th no support for UBB.classic will be available.

Summary

To summarize the upcoming changes:

UBB.threads Version 7.0 will be released as an alpha on May 10, 2006. The public beta version is expected to be released on June 15, 2006.

The upgrade to UBB.threads 7.0 will require a data import. It is not a simple software update from UBB.threads Version 6.

UBB.classic is being terminated, effective June 15th. UBB.classic license holders may continue to use the product, but development and support will cease on that date.

Existing UBB.classic license holders may convert to UBB.threads at no extra cost, assuming their licenseís Member Area access has not expired.

Existing UBB.classic license holders will have access to the new combined Member Area, with existing Member Area access expiration dates carried over. This consolidated Member Area will contain the latest versions of both UBB.classic and UBB.threads.

Unused Silver or Gold UBB.classic support may be used for UBB.threads support.

The home for UBB.threads will change from UBBCentral.com to UBBthreads.com sometime in the next few weeks. UBBCentral.com will point to UBBthreads.com once this switch occurs.